Publisher: CDV Software
Ages: ten and up.
Parental
Advisory:
War theme
Games that are entertaining and intelligent are a rare breed. But CDV Software's American Conquest, a real-time, historical strategy game that's devoted to the European quest for the New World, offers a challenging and fun experience that is semi-educational.
The game begins in 1492, the year when Christopher Columbus reached America and sparked centuries of battles for land, riches and freedom. In eight campaigns that include some 40 missions, players get to fight real-time battles with up to 32,000 soldiers, as well as discover new technologies, improve fighting units and apply diplomacy. Some of the missions are recreations of notable events that include the American War of Independence, Pizarro's Expedition, the War of Tecumseh, and the Seven Years War.
Besides spanning some 300 years-from the 15th to 18th centuries, America Conquest offers 12 nations that include: Britain, Spain, France, Aztec, Inca, Maya, Algonquin, Huron, Delaware, Pueblo, Iroquois, and the future United States, which have different buildings, units and technology.
The game serves the usual missions that ask players to build and defend bases and successfully attack others, but some objectives are based on history. This includes hoarding gold in conquistador campaigns, and more. As in most games, American Conquest provides a mission briefing. But here, the briefing is almost like a mini-history lesson-a nice touch.
As you would expect, American Conquest is a strategic war game that has lots of fighting and battlefield deaths. The fighting, while graphic, isn't bloody.
The game looks great and offers detailed graphics that depict period architecture and costumes, as well as attractive terrain. If players want more beyond the compelling single-player campaigns, up to seven can compete over a LAN or the Internet with multi-player modes that include deathmatch, historical battles, battle for America, and automated Internet championships.
American Conquest is one of the more intelligent games that we've run across. It not only brings insight into the many conflicts of the New World, it's a blast to play. It's definitely worth a look.
www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff
